“At first it was quite tart, almost acidic, but after I swallowed it was different, fruity…passionfruit I’d say, then there was a clean crisp finish.”
She kept looking at him, those deep brown eyes watching him carefully.
“That’s it.” He picked up the bottle and pointed to the label. “The variety is sauvignon blanc semillon, or SBS as we call it, from the Margaret River region. The winemaker is yours truly and now it has a name.” He poured more wine into her glass and picked up his own. It was all falling into place. With or without Euan, he was moving forward with this wine. When people were lining up to buy it, Euan wouldn’t be able to go back to only producing single varietals. “Here’s to Scarecrow. The latest creation from Levallier Dell wines in their Haystack series.”
Keely touched her glass to his and they both took a sip.
“I’ve entered it in a wine show.”
“With this?” Keely pointed to the handwritten label.
“It’s only a small local show. That’s all it needs. The wine has to speak for itself. Besides, I hadn’t decided on the label until I saw your sketch.”
“I can’t believe my artwork will be on the bottles. It’s so exciting.” She took another sip. “I think I could get the hang of this wine tasting.”
“Well, if that’s the case, you can help me taste the red.” He put down his glass and picked up two more from the sink. “Finish your wine then follow me. The steps are a bit rickety so wait till I’ve put the lights on.” He was pleased Keely had liked the wine. It had been different with Kat. She understood it all from a winemaker’s point of view but Keely was like a clean slate, she was keen to learn and he was enjoying the role of instructor.
* * *
Euan replaced the phone in the base and put a pod in the coffee machine. He wanted to make a few calls while Flynn wasn’t about.
He’d headed off earlier saying he was taking Keely out for a drive. That was a good thing for both of them. Euan was pleased to see them together. Flynn could do with someone like Keely. It was a shame she had moved to the studio but Euan understood her reasons and at least it meant she was staying on at Levallier Dell a bit longer.
He glanced around the room and noticed the bowl of roses on the coffee table among the carefully placed magazines. He and Flynn had managed for years but there was something comforting in having a feminine touch around the place again. Maggie did her bit when she came to stay but that wasn’t often. His mind flitted briefly to Dianna but there was no point in wishing for things you couldn’t have.
Euan pushed away thoughts of their recent time together in Sydney and then in Byron Bay and how much he’d enjoyed being with her and went to inspect the contents of the freezer. They were going to need more meat for the barbecue. The guest list had grown once he’d started making a few calls and Pam had rung and mentioned a few more people she’d contacted. Trouble was, the weather forecast wasn’t sounding good. They would have to squeeze a lot of people into this room if the predicted showers came through.
He looked out onto the verandah, which was perfect in good weather. Then he thought about the large area along the side of the house that had once been Lucy’s dream for the cellar door. Flynn was hell bent on resurrecting it for the Divine Wine and Dine weekend and they were committed now. It was also the perfect place to hold a barbecue.
He took his coffee and went out to see how much work it would take to clean it up.
* * *
Keely downed the last of the wine and crossed to the door in the wall that Flynn had disappeared through. She took some deep breaths. She hadn’t had that much wine but she’d only had a quick bite to eat for lunch and she felt light-headed.
That could have something to do with Flynn stepping her through the wine tasting. She was pleased he had taken the trouble to try to teach her but his proximity had been quite unnerving and when he smiled and looked at her with those piercing blue eyes her head spun, without any help from the wine. She had to admit she was attracted to him.
It wasn’t as if she hadn’t felt this way before but she was always so awkward with men. Past relationships had never lasted long. Either they’d wanted more than she was prepared to give or she was a stepping stone for them to get close to one of her girlfriends, usually Bec with her long blonde hair and bubbly personality. Not that Keely could blame them; Bec’s bright smile and easy banter was what had made her a ready friend on their first day at high school. Whatever the reason, Keely’s relationships had never lasted more than a couple of months. She had been attracted to plenty of men but it never seemed to eventuate into anything.
“Watch those steps,” Flynn called as she hovered in the doorway.
There was no rail, so she stepped down the three rungs carefully then stood in the dim cellar and waited for her eyes to adjust after the brightness of the tasting room. The packed-dirt floor enveloped the room in a musty earthy smell. Along the walls were barrels, each lying on its side, with letters and numbers scrawled on their ends.
“This used to be a farm storage shed. It’s built into the side of the hill with door access at the other end.” Flynn waved in the direction of two ceiling-height wooden doors filling the far wall. “When we bought the Haystack Block I remodelled it as a cellar. We planted the semillon and sauvignon blanc vines and then because the previous owner had already planted the cabernet sauvignon I talked Euan into planting the merlot so we could make a red blend. The cab sauv and the merlot are in these barrels, along with a small amount of Euan’s precious cabernet franc.”
“But you said we were going to taste it.” Keely looked around. “Surely not from a barrel?”
“That’s what this is for. It’s called a wine thief.” He held up a curved stainless-steel tube-like instrument then took the stopper out of one of the barrels and inserted the thief. There were already red stains around the hole. “You draw up a little, hold your thumb over the end and then let it run into the glass.” He demonstrated then passed her the tube and a glass. Keely watched fascinated as the wine ran from the tube into her glass. Suddenly the glass was almost full.
“Stop now,” Flynn said.
“How?” Keely wailed as the red liquid flowed over the glass, ran down her arm and dripped onto her pale pink shirt.
Flynn took the thief from her hand and the wine stopped. There was silence for a moment as they both stared at Keely’s trembling glass then the red stain that had splattered down her shirt and jeans.
“How about I tip some of that off?” Flynn took her glass and poured some of the contents onto the dirt floor. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
“Clumsy Keely strikes again,” she said.
“I should have done it. You’re such a quick learner I thought you had the hang of it.”
“Lucky you’ve got a dirt floor.”
“Red stains are one of the hazards of winemaking.” His face broke into a grin. “You might need to soak those clothes.”
“Don’t worry. I’m sure they’ll be fine.” She flicked her hand dismissively over the damage.
“Are you still game to try it?” Flynn offered her the glass, divested of half its contents.
Keely took it and tried to remember the tasting steps he’d taught her with the white wine. She was extra careful with her swirling and sniffing then she took a sip.
Aware of Flynn’s close scrutiny, she tried to disguise the involuntary grimace that contorted her face as the wine bit into her tongue. She turned away quickly and spat the contents onto the floor. It was terrible. There was a noise behind her. She glanced back to see Flynn putting the stopper back in the wine barrel.
He looked up. To her surprise his eyes were sparkling and his face wide with a smile. “I take it you don’t like my red.”
Keely looked down at the glass. What could she say? He was so proud of his wine but it had tasted like a cross between sarsaparilla and kerosene. “I told you I’m not a competent wine judge,” she mumbled.
“Don’t
worry.” He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Reds aren’t to everyone’s liking.” He laughed even louder. “Besides, there’s still time. It’s not quite ready to bottle yet.”
Keely ran her tongue around the inside of her mouth. Just as well, she thought. The only thing that stuff would be good for was cleaning paint brushes.
CHAPTER 20
Euan sat up. In spite of being back in his own bed, he’d had a restless night. Pain snaked down his neck and across his shoulders. He grimaced. Surely I’m not so old that I can’t recover from a hard day’s work, he thought.
Most of the day before he’d spent cleaning out the cellar-door area, ready for Flynn’s birthday barbecue. Keely and Flynn had returned in the late afternoon and had pitched in and helped but before that he’d been up on a ladder, chopping back plants and cleaning off rafters and walls. The bagged finish on the walls had been authentically coated with years of dust, which wasn’t very tasteful for entertaining.
He reached his hand behind, massaged a shoulder blade then slowly slid his feet to the floor. The clock showed nine am. He couldn’t believe he’d slept that late. He hoped a shower would spark him up. Pity he didn’t have time for a surf but there was still too much to do to get ready for the barbecue.
It was hard to imagine that Flynn was thirty-three. At first, each day after Lucy died had seemed an eternity, but the last few years had flown by. He wondered what Lucy would think of Flynn now. It had added to her distress to know she would miss seeing him turn into a man. Euan couldn’t pinpoint when that had happened. Flynn’s last years of school were a blur, then he’d gone interstate to study and then overseas to work.
Somehow, Euan had kept the vineyards going with Hugh’s help. Even in the deluge of despair that had engulfed him after Lucy died, Euan had found the winemaking had kept him sane; that and escaping to the surf whenever he could.
He gave the surf one more wistful thought then stepped under the shower, hoping the water would wash away his aches and pains. Times had changed and he had to keep his wits about him when it came to marketing their wine. Levallier Dell produced premium wines and Flynn was an important part of that. Euan tipped his face to let the water sluice over him. He understood Flynn’s youthful need for change. That had been one of the reasons for Euan’s own trek to Australia all those years ago. But he’d had to make a new start without the benefit of his father’s help back then. Levallier Dell was doing well and Flynn didn’t need to forge his own path, but Euan didn’t know how to talk to him about it.
Lucy’s death had changed their relationship. Anna had become a substitute mother and father for Flynn. Maggie had done her bit. Euan hadn’t felt needed and in any case he’d been incapable of offering comfort to anyone else. It wasn’t until Flynn had been gone a couple of years that Euan had begun to regret not offering more solace to his son. Slowly shedding his grief, Euan had realised he was lonely and began seeking female company. There had been several women over the years but none of them had been able to replace Lucy and so the relationships had never lasted, until now.
He grimaced at himself in the bathroom mirror. That’s if you could call seeing Dianna a couple of times a year a lasting relationship. She seemed to accept their long separations, never making demands. The first time they met was at a wine dinner and he’d been attracted to her immediately. She liked wine and was knowledgeable about it as well, and they had the French connection in common – her parents were French – but there was more to it than that. They’d met again the next day and often over the following weeks and a relationship had developed. They were a good match, not just physically but intellectually.
In the last couple of years, he’d made extra trips to the east on top of his work travels and several visits up to Perth when she flew in there. This last time, they had even discussed travelling overseas together. Suddenly, there was more to this relationship than just a convenient affair. He had to admit it had been harder to leave her this time and he had stayed on an extra week, making the excuse that it was the surf he was enjoying. That wasn’t a lie but he could surf here. What he didn’t have here was Dianna.
He walked back to the bedroom, rubbing his wet hair with the towel, and was greeted by the sound of dishes from the kitchen and the delicious smell of fresh baking. His empty stomach rumbled. There was no point in imagining Dianna living here in domestic bliss. Her work kept her too busy.
He sighed and opened the door. Keely looked up from the book she was thumbing through as he crossed the room.
“Doing a spot of cooking?” He couldn’t help but smile. Keely usually maintained a tidy kitchen but this morning things were quite different. Not only did it appear that every cooking utensil was in use, Keely herself was splotched with puffs of white, including a smudge that crossed from her cheek to the tip of her nose.
* * *
Keely jumped. “I didn’t know you were still here.” She straightened the books in front of her. She’d thought she had the house to herself. “Would you like some breakfast?”
“I’ll just get myself some toast and coffee.”
She leapt up. “I don’t know if you’ll be able to find it in the mess.”
“What are you doing?”
She bustled around Euan, trying to clear a space on the bench so he could plug the toaster in. “I thought I’d make a cake for Flynn.”
Euan raised his eyebrows. “Some cake.”
Keely followed his gaze to the benches. There were things everywhere. “Well, I thought I’d make a couple of different kinds so there’d be enough for everyone. Then I decided to make some mini pavlovas. I hope you don’t mind, there were plenty of eggs.”
“I don’t mind but you don’t need to go to all this trouble. Everyone will bring something.”
“The pavlovas will keep. I wanted to test them out before the Divine Wine and Dine weekend, anyway.”
Euan let out a deep sigh as he sat down with his breakfast. “You don’t have to be involved with that, Keely. It was Flynn’s idea. He needs to organise it.”
“Well he is, of course.” She began to stack up the dishes. “But I’m happy to help.”
“You’ve already helped us a lot about the place. Flynn and I need to have a serious talk about what needs doing but you don’t have to wear yourself out over it.”
Keely gripped the benchtop. She didn’t want to interfere but she hated to see Euan and Flynn at loggerheads. Besides, she was looking forward to the coming weekend. Living here had given her the feeling she’d swapped her life for someone else’s. She relished it and didn’t want to let it go just yet.
“I’m not. I enjoy helping.” She looked over the mess at Euan. “Levallier Dell is a special place. I can understand you not wanting lots of strangers tramping over it but it’s only once. If we make a good impression, it can’t harm the reputation of your wine and it’s a chance to showcase Flynn’s new wine. His new label should look great and I like the wine, if that’s any recommendation.” She gave a wry smile.
Euan’s expression wiped the smile from her face. She’d said something wrong.
“Where is Flynn?” he asked.
“He’s gone to get the chairs and tables for the party. He said something about them being scattered around the place, in sheds and things. I need a few bits and pieces from the shop and he said he’d drop me in town later, when he goes to the Haystack Block.”
“I’d better go and help him before he’s rearranged the whole property.”
Keely watched Euan go and tried to think back over what she’d said that might have upset him. She’d thought he was getting used to the idea of having the cellar door open for the coming wine weekend and he surely knew about Flynn’s wine. She put her hand to her head and rested an elbow on the ledge above the bench.
“Bloody hell, I’m such an idiot,” she muttered. Euan knew about the wine but probably not about the label or Flynn’s intention to sell it at the cellar door. “Damn those two prickly men.” She put the bakin
g trays in the sink and began to scrub.
* * *
Kat sat at a corner table, away from the remaining diners, and picked at the late lunch Michael had prepared for her. The marinated octopus salad was delicious, with just the right combination of lemon and garlic, but she didn’t feel hungry. For the last three hours, she’d worked the cellar door. It was the manager’s day off and they were short-staffed. She didn’t mind. She loved the people contact.
Peter’s wife, Angela, was the only other family member there besides Pappou. Kat liked her. She was very good with the customers and quietly managed the staff. The only time she was a little flustered was when Pappou spoke to her. Poor thing was obviously intimidated by him.
After a slow start, the visitors had kept coming thick and fast. The lunch tables had been filled and re-filled, she’d lost count of the covers they’d done, and Pappou had been in his element either behind the counter promoting his wines or moving from table to table, talking to those who stayed on to dine. Perhaps Kat had inherited some of her love of working with people from him. He certainly knew how to turn on the charm, but he was genuine and he was confident in the quality of his food and wine.
“It’s nice you can take a break. You’ve been busy.” Pappou stood beside her holding a plate. “Can I join you?”
“Of course,” she said brightly. They were all but alone in this part of the room. Maybe this was her chance to talk to him. Time was running out.
“You’re fitting in very well here,” he said.
“It’s easy to fit in. Everything runs so well. Angela does a great job.”
He ignored her reference to his granddaughter-in-law. “The cellar door is a good operation. Now that we’ve expanded, we need to attract bigger events. Weddings, corporate conferences. We could even have music and put on shows.” He waved his hands. “The sky’s the limit. I’m sure you are full of good ideas. You can have an office next to Michael’s out the back. We can convert a storeroom, there’s plenty of space. Where do you want to start?”
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